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PROVO — BYU women's soccer has the top-10 ranking, the veteran team, and the capacity crowds pushing 5,000 fans at South Field.
But for three straight matches, those same fans have left disappointed, if not heartbroken.
Jamie Shepherd and Ellie Walbruch each scored a goal Thursday night as No. 7 BYU drew for the third straight home match 2-2 with Texas Tech.
Sam Courtwright and Alex Kerr each scored for the seventh-ranked Red Raiders, who gleefully celebrated their best start in program history with an 11-0-3 record that includes a 5-0-1 mark in Big 12 play and the first top-10 ranking since 2014.
The draw, coupled with last week's 1-1 tie with Cincinnati, dropped the Cougars to five spots back of first place in their first year in the conference — and yet to win a league match at home in their first three opportunities.
If nothing else, Thursday night was a missed opportunity at home in front of a sellout crowd of 5,201 fans.
"Always when we step on the field at South Field in front of our awesome fan base, we expect to win," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "We played some really quality minutes tonight, and we had opportunities in the first half that had we put away, the game would've been a little bit different. We didn't capitalize on those opportunities, and we're playing a top-10 team in the country. Texas Tech is a very good team, one of the best we've seen this year, no question about it. But I feel like we had momentum in that first half, and had as good of looks as you could want."
Buzzing just three days after a 7-0 road win over Iowa State, BYU (10-1-3, 3-0-3) couldn't have started much better. Shepherd opened the scoring inside of 20 minutes, converting at the back post following Brecken Mozingo's corner kick in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
The senior-to-senior connection needed just one touch from Shepherd for her first goal of the year, taking the advantage on the Cougars' fourth shot attempt of the game that held up for nearly 40 minutes.
BYU held the Red Raiders without a shot on goal until the 39th minute, when Courtwright fired a deflected goal from close range into the back of the net to equalize 1-1.
The Cougars out-shot Texas Tech 5-1 early, but the visitors roared back to split the difference by halftime with five shots apiece as BYU put three shots on goal to Tech's two.
Kerr gave the Red Raiders a 2-1 lead, scoring off a counter attack in the 61st minute after Ashleigh Williams intercepted a BYU throw-in less than a minute earlier.
The lead didn't last long.
Walbruch scored off a putback just over two minutes later, scoring her fifth goal of the year after the defense spilled Olivia Smith-Griffith's cross from close range in the 63rd minute.
"Liv Smith took it down in line like she always does with a great cross, and the defender kind of deflected it to where I was to pop it back in," said Walbruch, the sophomore UCLA transfer from Alpine. "That was when we really needed a goal, and I'm glad to get one for the team."
Ellie Walbruch with the finish👩🍳💋
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) October 6, 2023
also let's take a moment and appreciate livs cross🤌
📺 https://t.co/4a7XnIMKwppic.twitter.com/Jp5shMJeBe
Bailey nearly gave the Cougars a lead with a one-touch low shot in the 68th minute, but Madison White read the play to save the wormburner and keep the match level into the final 20 minutes.
White finished with four saves for the Red Raiders, who are one of just five teams in the United Soccer Coaches' top 25 without a loss.
The draw, coupled with TCU's 1-0 win over Kansas, pushed Texas Tech into a tie for first in the Big 12 with 16 points in the table. After opening Big 12 play with a 3-3 draw with TCU, BYU is tied for second with Oklahoma State and UCF at 12 points with four matches remaining in the regular season.
"For us, we know we could've given more," Walbruch said. "Obviously, we want to protect South Field and allowing two goals and not getting the third goal kind of hurt us. But we know we can bounce back; we've just got to shake it off and protect South Field on Monday."
BYU hosts Kansas State at 5 p.m. MDT Monday before traveling to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma for consecutive road matches.
The Cougars are back home Monday, Oct. 23 to host fellow Big 12 newcomer UCF in the regular-season home finale before the Big 12 Tournament Oct. 28-Nov. 4 in Round Rock, Texas.
"It's all a process of trying to get a little bit better come tournament time, for the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament," Rockwood said.
